Earth Day Celebrated at Drusillas Park!

Earth Day took place this week and to mark the occasion, zoo keepers at Drusillas Park provided their four legged residents with world-themed enrichment.

Backed by the global organiser Earth Day Network, Earth Day is an annual event that takes place throughout the world on 22 April promoting environmental protection. On this day over a billion people in approximately 190 countries take action in order to make a difference by planting trees, picking up rubbish and introducing new recycling or conservation programmes.

To raise awareness of this important issue, zoo keepers at the award-winning zoo in East Sussex created globes from recycled newspaper, as part of the animals’ daily enrichment programme. Many species are affected by the consequences of our actions and in some cases driven to near extinction by global warming, deforestation and pollution.

The Sulawesi black crested macaques received globes filled with a combination of cheese and locusts. Sadly, these impressive monkeys are now considered critically endangered in the wild and in the last 40 years it is estimated that the population has been reduced by more than 80% as a result of habitat loss and hunting pressure.

Other animals that received world-themed enrichment at zoo included the squirrel monkeys and emperor tamarins, who had their globes stuffed with a bounty of apples and grapes. All of the monkeys revelled with excitement as they discovered the unusual offering, particularly Moteck the macaque who spent a good deal of time with it on his head! Some might say he had the weight of the world on his shoulders!

Delivering the animals’ meals in imaginative and unusual ways is all part of the zoo’s daily enrichment programme. This ensures they receive a varied and diverse diet, as well as encouraging them to think and work for their food as they would in the wild.